Brown Jacamar

About the Brown Jacamar

The brown jacamar (Brachygalba lugubris) is a species of bird in the family Galbulidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. The brown jacamar and the dusky-backed (B. salmoni), pale-headed (B. goeringi), and white-throated jacamars (B. albogularis) form a superspecies. The brown jacamar has seven subspecies:

B. l. fulviventris Sclater (1891) B. l. caquetae Chapman (1917) B. l. lugubris Swainson (1838) B. l. obscuriceps Zimmer & Phelps (1947) B. l. naumburgae Chapman (1931) B. l. phaeonota Todd (1943) B. l. melanosterna Sclater (1855)

Three of them (fulviventris, phaeonota, and melanosterna) were at one time treated as separate species. The brown jacamar is 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 16 to 23 g (0.56 to 0.81 oz). The upper parts of the nominate are brown and the lower back dark brown with a greenish black gloss. The wings are blackish with a blue sheen. The chin and throat are off-white, the breast and flanks reddish brown, and the lower breast and belly off-white or buff. The other subspecies differ in the tone and intensity of the back and breast... Wikipedia →